by Taylor Mullifan | News 8 ROC | March 9, 2024
The annual cook-off gives local eateries the chance to compete for the best chili of the year!
by Oran Spitzer | News 8 ROC | January 5, 2024
“We are individual artists in our own right, but we understand the power of community and the power of collective mindset,” said Community Relations Director Rashaad Parker of the Flower City Arts Center, who is also a founding member of the collective.
by Buffalo Rising | December 29, 2023
This funding, emphasizing community-led and centered arts organizations with budgets under $2 million, marked a significant step towards sustaining and enriching the region’s cultural landscape.
by Rebecca Rafferty | CITY News | Nov. 1, 2023
Six projects were selected from more than 50 applicants, with $20,000 each going to four: [...] The Flower City Arts Center to develop an entrepreneurial focus for its Expanding the Field youth program.
by Andie Vélez-Davis | News 8 WROC | October 13, 2023
The Flower City Pottery Invitational makes its return this weekend featuring ceramic artists from all over the country.
by WHAM | 13WHAM | October 13, 2023
Renowned artists from across the country are traveling to Rochester this weekend for the Flower City Pottery Invitational.
by Andie Vélez-Davis | News 8 WROC | September 17, 2023
Rochester City School Young Artists of Color had a “once in a lifetime” opportunity Saturday.
As part of the City’s Percent for the Arts program, Mayor Malik D. Evans announced that $100,000 has been awarded to local artists and arts organizations through ArtsBloom, an initiative to fund arts education, performing arts, and temporary art programming across Rochester [...] Flower City Arts Center [was allocated] $20,000 to develop a creative entrepreneurship focus for its youth program, “Expanding the Field.
by Bonnie Marrocco | NBCNews10 | April 22, 2023
The focus of the Open House was to connect the public with free art opportunities and local community-based organizations with information on sustainable practices.
by Rebecca Rafferty | CITY News | March 8, 2023
In late February Kristin Rapp took the helm as the new executive director of Flower City Arts Center on Monroe Avenue, a nonprofit community arts organization with studio and gallery spaces that offers arts education and youth outreach programming.
by Niagra Frontier Publications | December 19, 2022
The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo announced the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Arts & Culture Initiative awards totaling $500,000 to support more than 75 small to mid-sized arts organizations serving the eight counties of Western New York, plus Monroe County, through its inaugural 2022 competitive grants process.
by Berkeley Brean | CITY News | December 13, 2022
When you give the gift of membership to one of our region’s many museums, art houses, and theaters, you give year-round access to culture — and future excuses to get out of the house.
by Berkeley Brean | News10NBC | November 17, 2022
Amiere Young is a straight-A student who loves to practice photography at the Flower City Arts Center. “It’s good to be me,” she said. “Like, I have a good, supportive family. I have good, supportive friends.”
by ESL | Summer 2022
If you consider yourself traditional when it comes to photography and other visual arts, Dr. Cheryl McKeiver, executive director of the Flower City Arts Center at 733 Monroe Avenue in Rochester invites you to the center for a visit. What initially started as an area for pottery work has evolved into an educational center that offers a variety of visual arts classes and programs.“The Flower City Arts Center is designed to be the center that local youth go to first before visiting larger art centers like The Guggenheim Museum in New York City,” says Dr. McKeiver. “This is where people start to pursue their interest in learning more about visual arts.” Read more.
by Concetta Durso | FingerLakes1 | July 13, 2022
Sixty-one area nonprofits and community organizations have been awarded a total of $296,730 for arts programming as a result of a new partnership between Rochester Area Community Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). Read more.
by WHAM | 13WHAM TV | May 21, 2020
Our bright spot Thursday shines on a bright future for young artists in our community. This past weekend, the Flower City Arts Center put 250 art kits together for elementary students in three Rochester city schools. The kits included almost everything they will need to work on projects their teachers are sharing through Zoom virtual lessons. The kits also included a self-addressed postcard on which the students are asked to draw, reflecting this period of isolation. They will be put on display for all to see when students are together again. Read more.
by WHAM | 13WHAM TV | February 29, 2020
ROAM Cafe took home some big titles this weekend. The cafe won best overall and judges' choice awards Saturday night at the 16th Annual Flower City Arts Center's Chili Cookoff. Dozens of local eateries took part, handing out samples to ticket holders. 13WHAM's Michael Schwartz was a guest judge at the competition. Read more.
By Messenger Post Media | Monroe County Post | December 19, 2019
The Flower City Arts Center, 713 Monroe Ave., Rochester, is expanding its community class selections to include sculpture, Ethiopian book structure, photogravure, jewelry and guided black-and-white darkroom printing. These classes will be offered to community members of all ages, incomes and backgrounds. Visit rochesterarts.org for information. Read more.
by E.C. Salibian | Rochester Beacon | August 21, 2019
Brittany Grippi served six years in the U.S. Navy as an aviation ordnanceman, maintaining missiles and bombs aboard the USS Carl Vinson Nimitz-class supercarrier. Jennifer Wiese served as a civil affairs specialist in the U.S. Army Special Operations Command during the 2003 Iraq war. Belinda Miller describes herself as an introverted middle child, yet she’s served in both in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy. These three are among six Rochester women who took part in Eyes Front, a new photography and writing program for women combat veterans. Conducted by Flower City Arts Center in partnership with the Rochester Vet Center, the 12-week program took place this spring to empower women veterans to discover and share their stories. Out of it came the book “First Light” and an exhibition, which can be seen at Image City Photography Gallery on 722 University Ave. until Sept. 1. Read more.
by Rebecca Rafferty | CITY Newspaper | April 9, 2019
Last Saturday evening a crowd of art devotees gathered to watch a woman give birth to herself. She emerged from behind a curtain dressed like a priestess in flowing veils, nude fishnets, and shimmering pumps, with a giant third-eye headdress strapped to her brow. The front of her stockings protruded with a volume of scarves, simulating a baby bump. Over the course of her performance she called upon the elements, ancestors, spirit guides, archangels, and ascended masters, performed a cosmic dance with a mannequin, used a blade to cut off all of her clothing, anointed herself with her own menstrual blood, and buried herself in a mound of soil. When she re-emerged, minutes later, she was ecstatic. Read more.
by Messenger Post Media | Monroe County Post | Nov. 15, 2018
Flower City Arts Center, 713 Monroe Ave., Rochester, is displaying “Family Photographs,” a national juried exhibition of work by 18 artists from across the country, through Dec. 15. The history of family photographs is as long and varied as the history of photography itself. Read more.
by Messenger Post Media | Monroe County Post | Sept. 24, 2018
Flower City Arts Center, 713 Monroe Ave., Rochester, will host 21 ceramic artists from 11 states for the fourth annual Flower City Pottery Invitational on Oct. 11-14. The celebration of contemporary clay will feature an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 12, pottery exhibitions and a sale, demonstrations, workshops, and talks by the visiting artists. Read more.
by Maggie Ethridge | The Fix | Aug. 30, 2018
Smone Ochrym lost her 26-year-old son the same day that she had begged for him to return to treatment for his opioid addiction.
After a decade of drug abuse, recovery “was not in the cards” for Ochrym’s child. The Democrat and Chronicle interviewed Ochrym about her new photo project that includes 15 portraits and narratives of people in recovery from addiction. Read more.
Rochester Business Journal | Aug. 30, 2018
You don’t have to look far to find cool spaces in Rochester. From cutting-edge office designs to cleverly repurposed buildings to quiet outdoor spots hidden amid the bustle of downtown, there is no shortage of great spaces in which to work or play. The Rochester Business Journal asked our influential and connected readers to help us pick the coolest spaces in our region. We received nearly 200 nominations spread over four categories: Consumer, Education, Events and Office. Our editors selected the top 30 based on each space’s appearance and function. On this website you will have a chance to learn a little more about those winners and what makes them one of Rochester’s Coolest Spaces. Read about Flower City Arts Center.
By Robin L. Flanigan | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle USA TODAY NETWORK | Aug. 26, 2018
Even on the morning her 26-year-old son passed away from an overdose after struggling with addiction for a decade, Simone Ochrym suggested he go back into detox and try treatment again.While recovery “just wasn’t in his cards,” Ochrym discovered something about herself, while writing his eulogy.“I was an adult when his addiction started but by the time he was done with me I was a full-fledged adult,” she explains. Read more.
AfterTaste the magazine | issue 2 | Mar. 30, 2018
What is Flower City Arts Center and what does it provide for the community?
We are really one of the few community art centers where you can take a myriad of different classes at a very reasonable price, with parking. We've established an art community here. I think that's probably the biggest thing that people take away from taking classes here and being a part of it and being a member, is that they feel that this is a fun place to go and explore their artistic sensibilities without having
to matriculate or go to a university.
Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | CITY Newspaper | Mar. 28, 2018
The Photography & Digital Arts program at Flower City Arts Center this month celebrates 20 years of its Studio 678 youth photography program with an exhibition at City Hall. Open to Wilson Foundation Academy middle school students, the 24-session after-school photography program is free to the kids and receives no funding from the Rochester City School District; it's supported by individuals, businesses, foundations, and professional associations. Read more.
By Messenger Post Media | Messenger Post Media | Mar. 20, 2018
Image City Photography Gallery, 722 University Ave., Rochester, is exhibiting “Through the Student Lens 18” through April 15.
The annual exhibit showcases area high school students. Guest photographers include Rochester Area Nature Photography Meetup Group in the Neuberger Gallery and students at Wilson Foundation Academy’s Studio 678, a Genesee Center for Arts and Education program. Read more.
By Jack Wolsky | The Ukrainian Weekly | Feb. 9, 2018
An exhibit at the Flower City Arts Center in Rochester, N.Y., on December 8-30, 2017, featured the prints of Wolodymyr “Mirko” Pylyshenko. This solo exhibition focused on Mr. Pylyshenko’s black-and-white graphic prints made between 1958 and 1966. Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | Dec. 27, 2017
Mirko Pylyshenko taught printmaking at SUNY Brockport during the Cold War era, and for more than 60 years has served the Rochester Ukrainian community in the fields of the arts, education, religion, youth programs, and the credit union movement. Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | Nov. 15, 2017
A celebration of small ceramic work, "Good Things...come in small packages" opens at Flower City Arts Center this week, providing a great opportunity to tick some names off your gift list while supporting makers. Each piece in the show measures no more than eight inches long, high, or wide — it's a given that there will be mugs; there will also be small sculptural work. Read more.
AU Press Releases | Alfred University | Nov. 14, 2017
A group of noted ceramic artists from the 2017 Flower City Pottery Invitational, which include several Alfred University faculty and alumni, toured the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum on Oct. 16. The Flower City Pottery Invitational is an annual event organized through the Flower City Arts Center in Rochester. Read more.
By Arlene Hisiger | Democrat & Chronicle | Nov. 12, 2017
“Rochester is where I grew up,” Jennie Papkin says. “I left, but came back, because I’m passionate about this city and am dedicated to improving it.” Her bachelor of arts in sociology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada serves her well in her current position as Cameron Community Ministries’ (CCM) executive coordinator. Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | Nov. 8, 2017
Experimental printmaker and photographer Rebecca Lomuto's work began to move away from traditional territory when she was studying abroad in Florence, Italy. As an undergrad at SUNY Purchase, "I was really gung-ho about being this traditional black and white analog photographer, and printing in the darkroom," she says. Read more.
By Robin L. Flanigan | Democrat & Chronicle | Oct. 6, 2017
Between 1,500 and 2,000 pieces of pottery — from 21 artists around the country — will be for sale at the Flower City Pottery Invitational, an annual event that celebrates the best in contemporary clay. “This isn’t like what people think of as a traditional exhibition,” says Audrey Shaughnessy, coordinator of the event being held at Flower City Arts Center, 713 Monroe Ave. “These are full bodies of work, and the artists are right there.” Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | Aug. 18, 2017
Rex's work reflects a mind that connects a lot of dots, introducing new constellations from stars that have always been there. But he's also incredibly playful and funny. Read more.
By Gracie Peters | City Newspaper | Aug. 16, 2017
It's so much easier to use a plastic fork and toss it than it is to labor over the kitchen sink. Flower City Arts Center artist-in-residence Arleen Thaler, a photojournalism graduate student at Empire State College, highlights this shortcoming in her show, "Plastics: Our Weakness." Read more.
By Caurie Putnam | Democrat & Chronicle | Aug. 15, 2017
Arleen Thaler never thought she’d find value in washed up plastic waste, but one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. While on a fishing trip with her husband this spring on Braddock Bay, the photographer spotted plastic cups, broken Frisbees, recyclable water bottles, all as she spent time on the beach, but there was nothing relaxing about what she saw. Read more.
By Pam Sherman | Democrat & Chronicle | Aug. 2, 2017
I’m embarking on a new stage of life: the “Over 55” stage. The “Over 55” category is a box we check on a form, designed by some actuary who decided that by the time you reach 55, you are now different from the rest of the young population. As in, your children up and leave you. Everything starts to hurt a little bit when you sit too long. And you suddenly feel you must watch every police procedural on CBS. Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | July 19, 2017
Donald Trump's 2018 fiscal budget proposal for the federal government, which was announced in May, notably aims to slash funding for Medicaid, the EPA, food stamp programs, scientific research, and cultural agencies. Of the 66 programs up to be eliminated or cut, the ones that allocate funding for arts and culture are the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Read more.
By WHAM | 13WHAM News | May 28, 2017
A local rape survivor shared her story of healing Saturday night, in hopes it would help other victims of violence. 35 years ago, Nicholle La Vann was raped and gave birth to a baby girl. Despite the traumatic experience, she went back to school where she became interested in photography and film making. Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | May 24, 2017
For all of our debates over the right for women to terminate unwanted pregnancies, there's less conversation about women who decide to keep children conceived through rape. Filmmaker and Flower City Arts Center Artist-In-Residence Nicholle La Vann is creating a documentary about her own assault and her broken relationship with her daughter, in the effort to continue her process of healing. By speaking out, she hopes to start important discussions and embolden other women who have had similar experiences. Read more.
By Robin Flanigan | Demorcat & Chronicle | April 7, 2017
Megan Charland had been following graphic design artist Mitch Goldstein on Twitter, and regularly listened to the podcast he co-hosts about graphic design education and practice. When Goldstein, who teaches at Rochester Institute of Technology’s College of Imaging Arts & Sciences, announced last year he was starting an Instagram account to experiment with photographic images made without a camera, she started following him there. Read more.
By Cynthia Benjamin | Democrat & Chronichle | March 2017
Mitch Goldstein experiments with photograms, photographic images made without a camera. Watch the video.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | March 8, 2017
When we think of individual artists, most come with the association of a specific chosen medium. A smaller number of creatives, like Argentinian-American Stephanie Mercedes, float from one material to the next, each new body of work determined by the message they want to get across. Mercedes's work includes a unique aspect: she folds law and dissent into her artistic practice. Read more.
By Lori Gable | Rochester Business Journal | February 7, 2017
Local arts organizations that count on federal funding are rallying support through a social media campaign. The Flower City Arts Center, formerly the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education, is taking to Twitter Inc., Facebook Inc., LinkedIn Corp. and Instagram social media to ask people to share stories of how the National Endowment for the Arts has made a difference in their lives. It is using #myNEAstory to raise awareness of how art matters and what communities stand to lose if they lose funding. Read more.
By Robin L. Flanigan | Democrat & Chronicle | January 30, 2017
The more barren and lifeless the subject, the more attractive it is to Joseph C. Wilson Foundation Academy eighth-grader Alihana Hardy, a student in the Flower City Arts Center’s Studio 678 Urban Youth Photography Project. “I like dying grass and torn-down buildings, and I know that sounds weird,” says the 13-year-old. “But photography can give things different words, you just have to give it time. Art can take something ugly and make it beautiful. You have to look deeper than the surface.” Read more.
By Caurie Putnam | Democrat & Chronicle | December 2, 2016
Good things not only can come in small packages, but also can be small packages. To see for yourself, head to the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education now through Dec. 17 to see its exhibit "Good Things … come in small packages." Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | November 30, 2016
There's much to be said about the disappearing scientific element of making art and the stalwart enthusiasts keeping it alive. Chemistry and creativity have strolled hand-in-hand throughout human history, but just as the majority of painters stopped grinding their own minerals when they could buy any ready-made hue, most photographers' understanding of chemistry and calculations faded with the onset of digital tech. Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | October 14, 2016
The second annual Flower City Pottery Invitational, hosted by the Flower City Arts Center, kicked off Thursday morning with (many sold out) classes offered by some of the exhibiting artists. The event, which last year drew nearly 1,000 visitors to the center, continues through Sunday, October 16, with an opening reception Friday, October 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and with artist demos and talks throughout the weekend. Read more.
By Robin L. Flanigan | Democrat & Chronicle | October 7, 2016
Twenty-one premier ceramic artists from nine states and Canada are showcasing high-end, contemporary clay pieces at the Flower City Arts Center’s Flower City Pottery Invitational. The show and sale includes an artist reception, pottery exhibitions, workshops and talks. Last fall’s event drew about 1,000 people. Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | August 17, 2016
Although her primary training is in art bookmaking, recent Flower City Arts Center resident artist Amanda Chestnut has branched out to a variety of media to hit her points in her most recent body of work. Her compact show, "Good Hair," includes photographic and letterpress prints, mixed media art books, and other objects, and treads the waters of long-standing social and political conflicts that are ever-frequently shouted about in today's media and online chatter. Read more.
By Amanda Chestnut | Democrat & Chronicle | July 23,2016
In my career as an artist, a constant that has helped me develop my work, learn new techniques, and make connections for exhibits is artist residencies.
I am currently preparing for an exhibit that will culminate my 2015-2016 residency at Flower City Arts Center (GCAE).
Good Hair will open on Aug. 5 along with Domestic Digest by artists-in-residence Ian Park and Kelly Justice. As this residency draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on how important residencies are to artists. Read more.
By Robin L. Flanigan | Democrat & Chronicle | June 14, 2016
All four gallery spaces at the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education will be dedicated to exhibits of photography, ceramics and book arts for College Collective, a national juried show featuring current college students and alumni within two years of graduation.
Fifty-five emerging artists from 42 colleges in 22 states are participating in the show, opening Friday. Read more.
By City of Rochester, NY .Mayor's Office | CityWise | April 6, 2016
Studio 678 Wilson Photo Club is in its 18th year and hundreds of students have taken part in the unique program that allows them to explore the community through their own eyes. Watch the video.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | March 23, 2016
Six years ago, artist Lynne Hobaica was a resident artist in the ceramics program at Flower City Arts Center's Fire House Gallery (713 Monroe Avenue). After relocating to four different cities across two continents, Hobaica is back at Flower City Arts Center as the ceramics studio manager. In her new body of work, "A Possible Result of Wanderlust," currently featured in the center's Firehouse Gallery, she reflects on her journeys and the dynamics of human relationships. Read more.
By Erica Bryant | Democrat & Chronicle | March 16, 2016
You might have seen the little man peeking around the corner at the Memorial Art Gallery. Emani Rogers, age 12, wrote a poem about him. "Little Man in a little life waiting for something good to arrive," it begins. She is part of Studio 678, the Flower City Arts Center's photography club for students at Wilson Foundation Academy. Read more.
By Leah Shaw | Democrat & Chronicle | January 04, 2016
As the new communications coordinator at the Flower City Arts Center, Megan Charland is doing what she loves: inspiring the community in visual arts. Read more.
By Todd Clausen | Democrat & Chronicle | November 04, 2015
Through a camera lens, Ed Stone documents what life is like on many local farms. ... Stone has been capturing photographs of work life on the farms through a 13-week photography course offered at the Flower City Arts Center in Rochester. The Social Reportage course doesn’t teach photographers new skills, but instead immerses them in various experiences. Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | November 03, 2015
"Farm to Table: Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers" includes about 40 images by seven photographers, ranging from teen to retired, who participated in Thaler's third Social Reportage course. Images in the show reveal the proud faces of the harvesters, their work-worn hands, the kinds of produce they handle, the tools and machines involved in the harvest, livestock, and the orchard, farm, or farm stand environments. Read more.
By Leah Shaw | Democrat & Chronicle | October 19, 2015
Lynne Hobaica couldn't be happier in a career choice that has led her to Rochester. As the new ceramics studio manager at Flower City Arts Center, she teaches three classes — two drawing-related, and one wheel throwing course. She completed her residency at the center in 2011 and came back just a few months ago. Read more.
By Robin L. Flanigan | Democrat & Chronicle | October 3, 2015
The inaugural Flower City Pottery Invitational, coming next weekend, will give the public close, personal access to a range of work well-suited to a region organizers call a clay mecca, with its proximity to Rochester Institute of Technology's School for American Crafts, Alfred University and strong clay programs in Buffalo and Syracuse. Read more.
By Rachel DeGuzman | Democrat & Chronicle | September 24, 2015
Upstate New York cultural and educational institutions were pivotal to the emergence of the post-industrial American ceramics movement in the 20th century. Today, Rochester is still located in the center of a clay mecca with renowned ceramics programs at Alfred University and the School for American Crafts at RIT as well as strong clay programs in both Syracuse and Buffalo. With events like the launch of the upcoming Flower City Pottery Invitational (FCPI) at Genesee Center for the Arts and Education – the region strengthens its relevance to the field and industry in the 21st century. Read more.
By Meaghan M. McDermott | Democrat & Chronicle | May 30, 2015
When artist Rebecca Lomuto's friends from Brooklyn visit and check out the space at the Flower City Arts Center for the Arts on Monroe Avenue, they can't hide their jealousy. Read more.
By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | December 31, 2014
There's a lot of talk of "two Rochesters" — cities divided by the different experiences of the haves and have-nots — but we might argue that there are as many Rochesters as there are people who live here. Some of these Rochesters remain obscure to others; while some of them expand as they come into contact with one another, swelling to include other versions. The current photo exhibit at Flower City Arts Center's Community Darkroom explores Rochester's refugee population, depicted through the earnest lenses of some citizens who seek to spotlight what is relatively invisible. Read more.
By Norma Holland | 12 WHAM-TV | Dec. 9, 2014
The lives of Rochester's refugees are chronicled in a new photo exhibit at the Genesee Center for the Arts and Education on Monroe Avenue. Local photographer, Arleen Hodge Thaler, led the effort along with students in her photography class. We'll also hear from the head of a local refugee organization about the challenges of those who now call Rochester home. Watch the video (part 1). Watch the video (part 2).